Consumer trust in food is paramount. Organic food, a credence good, presents information asymmetry, leading to skepticism, particularly in emerging markets like Hungary and Poland. This study aims to quantify the effect of product-specific (packaging, price) and external factors (place of purchase) on perceived credibility of organic food in these countries. The legacy of socialist regimes in Hungary and Poland has impacted institutional trust, making robust and transparent organic certification vital for rebuilding consumer confidence. High price and low credibility are significant barriers to organic market growth in these regions. The Hungarian organic food market in 2015 was valued at €30 million (0.3% of the total food market), while Poland's 2019 market reached €314 million (0.6%). These figures are significantly lower than Western European countries. Consumer perceived credibility is crucial given the association of organic products with environmental benefits and health. However, certification challenges and fraudulent practices erode trust. This research will explore the influence of various factors on consumer perception of organic food credibility, comparing Hungary and Poland.

The study draws upon existing literature highlighting the importance of packaging (Danner and Menapace, 2020), appearance (Nuttavuthisit and Thøgersen, 2017), communication (Vega-Zamora et al., 2019), certification and country of origin (Pedersen et al., 2018), price (Lee et al., 2020), and place of purchase (Bonn et al., 2016) on consumer perceptions of organic food. Certification, often signaled by organic logos, is key to building trust (Janssen and Hamm, 2012), although its effectiveness may be limited in Central and Eastern Europe (Činjarević et al., 2018). Country of origin significantly impacts perceptions, with products from developing countries often viewed as less credible (de Morais Watanabe et al., 2020; Bruschi et al., 2015). Product-level communication and appearance also influence perceptions (Vega-Zamora et al., 2019; Lockie et al., 2002). Price is a critical factor, with both high and low prices potentially causing distrust (Hemmerling et al., 2015; Yin et al., 2016). Finally, the place of purchase significantly affects credibility, with positive retailer perceptions enhancing trust (Konuk, 2018; Bonn et al., 2016).

This study employed an online choice-based conjoint analysis to assess the influence of various factors on perceived credibility of organic food. Rice was chosen as the focal product due to its widespread consumption and relevance of the selected attributes. Attributes and levels were determined based on market observations and prior research (Nagy et al., 2022). Attributes included packaging (paper, plastic, none), appearance (white, brown rice), communication (claim "From controlled organic farming," no claim), country of origin (Hungary, USA, India) with respective logos, price (low, average, high), and place of purchase (supermarket, online store, organic market). A full factorial design was generated using R, and an orthogonal design reduced the number of choice sets to 16 pairs of cards. Participants (652 Hungarians, 290 Poles) were asked to select the product they trusted more to be genuinely organic, rather than assessing willingness to pay. A conditional logit model was used to analyze the data, incorporating individual characteristics (gender, age, education, residence, income, organic food purchasing frequency, logo knowledge, food responsibility, willingness to pay, and ethnocentrism). Data was collected via social media (Hungary) and Prolific (Poland). Samples were not fully representative of the general population showing some demographic biases.

Country of origin emerged as the most significant factor for Hungarian respondents, with domestically produced rice perceived as most credible. Packaging was the second most important factor, with paper packaging being more credible than plastic. Product appearance (brown rice) also positively influenced credibility. Price showed a less pronounced but still significant impact, with higher prices enhancing credibility. Place of purchase influenced credibility with organic markets perceived as the most credible source. For the Polish sample, packaging and appearance were the most influential attributes, followed by place of purchase. Similar to the Hungarian sample, paper packaging and brown rice were deemed more credible. Country of origin showed a significant but weaker effect compared to the Hungarian sample. Price again had a weaker influence, with only a negative effect from low prices observed. Communication had no significant effect on the Polish sample. Further analysis revealed that individual characteristics such as gender, age, education, logo knowledge, food responsibility, willingness to pay, and ethnocentrism interacted with product attributes to shape credibility perceptions differently in both samples. For example, Hungarian males found paper packaging more credible, while younger Hungarians were less influenced by price or country of origin. Higher education levels generally increased the importance of several significant attributes. Frequency of organic food purchases also influenced perceptions, with frequent buyers placing more weight on certain attributes. For Polish participants, several interaction effects were found, with education, income and familiarity with different logos interacting with packaging, appearance, and country of origin.

The findings largely support the hypotheses, demonstrating that country of origin, packaging, appearance, price, and place of purchase influence consumers' perceived credibility in organic food. The importance of country of origin aligns with previous research emphasizing the role of national image and consumer ethnocentrism. The strong impact of packaging supports the growing body of research highlighting its role in conveying authenticity and sustainability. The preference for brown rice highlights the potential influence of perceived health benefits and natural appearance. The findings regarding price are consistent with previous research suggesting that both high and low prices can evoke distrust, potentially due to associations with either luxury or low quality. The greater credibility associated with organic markets aligns with consumers’ preference for smaller farms with potentially stronger ethical and environmental standards. The similarities in results between the two samples despite some demographic differences suggest that shared cultural and social backgrounds play a stronger role than country-specific factors in shaping organic food credibility. However, interaction effects highlight the need to consider consumer segmentations when designing communication strategies.

This study provides valuable insights into the factors shaping consumer perceptions of organic food credibility. It confirms the importance of country of origin, packaging, appearance, price, and place of purchase, and underscores the need for nuanced communication strategies that consider consumer segments. Future research should explore the generalizability of these findings across other food products and through offline studies.

The study's limitations include the non-representative nature of the samples, the potential for interaction effects among attributes, and the limited scope of attributes considered. The study also did not directly assess willingness to pay for organic products. Furthermore, the reliance on online data collection may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future studies could address these limitations by employing more representative samples, exploring a broader range of attributes, and incorporating real-life purchasing behavior.